News 

Braintree Carnival

Braintree Riverside Sub-Aqua Club have done a first - we entered a float into Braintree's carnival with the theme of 'Holiday Magic' which was quite apt for us.  As you can see from the photos attached we embarked on a holiday beside the seaside.  Over a period of several weeks, club members put in any spare hours they could find to paint, draw & colour a multitude of sealife creatures onto the wood panels that made up the float. 
It was well worth the effort - we won second prize and were awarded a certificate and a rosette and photos in the local newspapers and a mention on the local radio !  We ended the day off with a quick trip around the funfair followed by a barbeque and beers in the evening.   Well done to everyone who gave up their time and for the effort put into this project.

Letter from a satisfied customer :)

Saturday May 8^th 2010 – Try Dive’s for Silver End Scouts
 

We had a group of 30 enthusiastic young people from the scouts movement, both boys & girls, ages ranging from 10 up to 14 on Saturday night arrive at the pool excitedly awaiting their dip in the pool for their try-dive & snorkeling session.

Upon arrival at approx 5.45pm they were shown to the changing rooms and then gathered along the poolside for their briefing and introduction to scuba diving, whereby they were shown some of the equipment that they were going to be using in the pool that evening.

The group was sorted into two halves, with friends clinging to one another so that they weren’t separated (ah bless) and were then taken to either side of the pool and had their equipment given to them and entered into the water ready for instruction.

Each group had one hour of either snorkeling or scuba diving with their instructors, pool marshals as well as the scout leaders along poolside & with parents sitting in the viewing areas.

After one hour, the groups changed over to complete their session before running to get changed with teeth chattering before they got too cold !

They thoroughly enjoyed themselves, taking to the sport like ducks to water and we wouldn’t be surprised to see one or two of them taking up the sport in a few years time as a few of them had been before and enjoyed it so much that they came back for another go.

At the end of the evening, they were all presented with a certificate to confirm that they had taken part in a ‘Try-Dive’ session which had their individual names on it and the date of when the session took place. The scout leaders took lots of photographs (to be printed in the Braintree & Witham Times newspaper) and video footage to be shown at their club.

Everyone went home with a huge smile on their face. :)

A big thank you to all who helped make the evening a success :-

Andrew Porter, Martyn Phillips, Keith Sayward, Sue Sayward, Andrew Coles, Denise Wright, Steve Humphrey, Dave Gleadow, Darius Sulga, Tim Easting, Kelly-Jo Fletcher, David Reid.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2 Free tickets to the 2009 London Dive show

To win the free tickets you just have to answer this question :-

What year was Riverside Sub-aqua club formed ?

wow!!! its a tough one ;)

Answers on a postcard or emailed to the Club email adress that can be found on the contact page  Good Luck !!

I hope whoever wins the tickets enjoys their day at the show but don’t
forget, for those who are unlucky... by booking six or more tickets to the show
in advance either via the website www.diveshows.co.uk or via the ticket
hotline on 0208 977 9878, they can buy your tickets for just £6.50 each –
fantastic value for money!


 

FIRST OPEN WATER DIVE by Denise Wright
 

This was what I had been training for in the pool, but I was still a bag of nerves and giddy with excitement at the thought of a totally new – and alien – environment. Would I like it? Would I do something stupid? Would I forget everything and panic? The answer is yes to all those.

Swanage pier was my first open water and sea dive. The ride in the rib beforehand was exhilarating and I was pleased to discover I don’t suffer from seasickness. Water was relatively calm in the harbour but choppy when we went further out. Was concentrating so hard on getting kitted up correctly that I didn’t have time to really feel nervous and then it was into the water, first time I’ve ever done a backward roll entry as well. I’m told that you only need to just fall backward but I guess I was so keen that I managed a full somersault – but it was ok! At least I remembered to hang onto my mask and reg….

Got settled in the water with my instructor, Keith, and then descended to around 3m – or tried to. I needed an extra 2kg to get me down properly but went down fine after that. The water seemed murky but I could see 1m at least and it was then a matter of trying not to bounce up and down on the bottom, not bump into any of the pier stanchions and try to spot some wildlife, other than divers. I did see some anemones, some small fish that I couldn’t identify and some fry. And I bagged my first trophy – a wrist slate with Suunto compass attached! I found that once I was down on the bottom, I just forgot about the nerves and was really interested in what was around me, wasn’t hyperventilating and felt quite good. We ascended after what seemed about 5 minutes but was nearer 15-20 and then it was my first boat entry – not in the least bit elegant but I managed it eventually. All the time I was in the water, I felt confident in my instructor and the other club members who were looking after me – and that felt really good.

Sunday and off to Portland to dive on the Countess Laverne at around 12m. Weather was brighter but sea was rougher and the water was much more open than Swanage. I got to drive the boat (to all the usual remarks about women drivers) from the harbour to the dive site and quickly found out that you ignore the position of the wheel and just keep the nose pointing the way you want it to go! Kitting up once more, feeling more nervous than yesterday as the sea was a lot rougher and trying not to fall overboard whilst waiting for Mark, my instructor today. Time to go in but I misunderstood the instruction and didn’t go when I should have – and the boat got tangled on the buoy line! Felt a right twit…. Into the water and got settled before descending down the line. Could feel the pull of the water today and held tightly onto the shot line, it also felt really weird going down and not being able to see the bottom, although the water was a lot clearer than yesterday. Ears began hurting at around 5m and I stopped to clear them but it didn’t work, so I went a little further and tried again – still didn’t work and now water was getting into my mask. Was too scared to let go of the line and began to panic, so signalled to Mark and we went back up. My left ear still wouldn’t clear and Mark asked if I wanted to try again or go back to the boat. Was feeling very nervous and a bit shaky so decided to abandon, although I felt awful about depriving Mark of his dive. Back into the boat but pulled in this time by John and Keith. Mark did get his dive after all as he went in with John and Andy as a trio.

So, that was my first diving weekend with the club. Overall, I really enjoyed it. The company was great, the laughs were frequent and I promise not to nick the chairman’s starter next time. I felt good about my equipment; it was easy to use and comfortable. I didn’t have a dry suit but my two-piece 5mm wetsuit kept me warm in and out of the water, only bit that felt mildly cold was my feet. I now know I need to practice the basics more in the pool and dive as often as possible to gain confidence at deeper depths. I don’t want to let the experience at Portland put me off further sea dives as I know there is so much to see below the water. The ears will no doubt sort themselves out but I’m regularly popping them now and my surgery nurse has said the canals are clear after syringing them for me.

mhhh lots of dives in 2007 but only 2 written up some ppl need there butts smacked....

Kenya 2007

What can I say, what a load of mad people to go on holiday with, except me of course I was the only one that acted my age………

The Voyager Hotel Mombassa was really fantastic, 14 of us went this year 8 dives and 6 non-divers, and we had loads of laughs usually at each other. The diving was brilliant John our chairman arranged the whole thing mug in November as that’s the whale shark session, he unfortunately did not get to see any, I on the other hand was diving with him so I felt I got close to a big whale. I got up to my normal childish things like singing on the boat, thanks to Angela calling my lovely pink boots Barbie boots every time I put them on I burst into rather loud Barbie girl song, I don’t understand why they would not let me back on the boat unless I stopped I have a great voice. One dive I swam in front of them all and started doing the locomotion, my mask was filling up as I sang and laughed they all said they did not see me yerrrrr just no sense of humour the lot of um. Anyway I for some strange reason got in the habit of tickling the back of Johns leg, one dive I had a problem with my kit so I was a late getting down, I soon court up with John or so I through and tickled his leg so he would no it was me, or so he could swear at me, however I soon realized it was Andrews leg I had got, o well he got a cheap frill. I always use to wear my lucky shorts on every dive, but now alas they don’t fit my slightly larger than life bottom so I carried them in my stab jacket, only on the last day I had to borrow a stab from the dive school as mine was unwell and I did remember to put lucky shorts in the pocket. I was buddied with lose it Lou that day, we dived a wreak called the Daniel at about 30 mts all was going really well Lou signalled to me to follow him up onto the ships deck I saw something floating gracefully to the bottom, looked to see what it was, as it did not look like anything id seen before. Shock horror I saw a distinct white stripe and realized it was my shorts so I dived down to get them. I decided to hold on to them for the rest of the dive as they are so precious to me, I as usual was the first one to run low on air so I joined those that had started there assent, as we stopped at about 6mts for safety stop, I through it was funny to put my shorts on my head, and Tomas took a picture which is below, Lou and the others had joined us and we all surfaced safely. Lou looked at me and said something like err you dirty girl, you picked them up of the bottom you don’t know were they have been, not sure how he missed the fact that i've been diving with them for years, proberley sleeping. But it did make me crack up. We went on a three day safari that was really magical, and amasing, Lou was in the same bus as myself Thomas and Gavin, he would argue this but the three of us all suffered as he did not get the hang of holding on as we moving he managed to stamp on all of us at one point or another, but we will not hold it against him or ether let him forget it. To sum up the holiday it was fantastic everything and everyone was great thanks John.

Me just being me

John doing his Elvis impression, sorry John more of a simba than king of this jungle!

The whole group on our last night in Kenya 2007 with suntans

Andrew is he really over the sea sickness or this really a fish

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOUTHSEA DIVE TRIP 15TH-16TH SEPTEMBER 2007  

On the weekend of 15th & 16th September, eleven members of the club drove down to Southsea with two ribs, unfortunately on the way down Carlys Nevara  with the second boat burnt its clutch out on the M25 which meant by the time they got relayed back home for the other car ( without boat ) it was midnight before they reached the campsite. Next morning, bleary eyed (not sure if lack of sleep or the liquid supper ) we took the boat to the near-by slipway in preparation for the first dive on H M S Boxer, a WW1 Torpedo destroyer across on the I.O.W. The wreck is well broken up with the boiler being the largest part standing, the vis was not very good, and after lining off, swam around the amidships, lots of shoaling fish now inhabit the wreck. It was a pleasant dive with water temp of 19 degrees. A quick run back to the slipway was required as Carly was feeling seasick ( must have been something I ate HIC! ),once the boat was recovered it was back to the campsite for a lazy afternoon.

Next day it was of to visit Horsea diving centre, which is an old MOD torpedo firing lake now used for training military personal and civilians, in which several objects such as a helicopter, land rover, boat and recompression chamber has been sunk, it is sea water and only has a depth of seven metres but has lots of marine life including thousands of jelly fish. From there it was a quick drive to Gosport to visit the submarine base and a tour round HMS Alliance and the museum before returning home.Thanks to Keith for arranging the week end and to everybody for their good company.

John.

SWANAGE DIVE TRIP 15TH-17TH SEPTEMBER 2006 

                Nine members of riverside club departed from their various abodes throughout Friday. Most of them arrived in good time even though getting stuck in horrendous traffic jams on the M3 and M27, to at least be in time for an evening meal. Not so lucky for myself and Gavin , who actually managed to miss the exit for the M25 after only forty minutes of driving, having being too preoccupied by the forthcoming dive weekend to pay attention to where we were going. We eventually arrived at the campsite four hours later at around five past midnight complete with noisy exhaust, much to the annoyance of the other campers no doubt, but just in time for one last nightcap.

                The first dive on Saturday morning brought us good weather and fairly calm sea conditions. We all spent around half an hour splashing around the pier area spending time adjusting kit and sorting out any buoyancy concerns we had, albeit apart from Stuart and Andy who, being well into their thirties are still finding problems with their time keeping and disappearing for almost an hour. We all enjoyed a short break to get some food and drink before departing on the dive rib JOKER to our next dive location.

                The wreck of the FLEUR DE LYS lies around 1 mile out to sea in approximately 13 meters of water and is of wooden construction. This wreck is still pretty much intact although due to its construction, penetration of the wreck is not possible .There was a lot of marine life present on this dive, the bulk of it being cod fish swarming around inside the wreck, and visible through the damaged hull sections. Around the exterior of the wreck, other marine inhabitants were spotted. Under the bow section hidden from view, a Lobster decided to pop out and have a look around and other members spotted a Cuttlefish scurrying along. The water  temperature was around 17 degrees and we spent around 30 minutes diving this wreck.

               After a couple of hours back at shore, where we indulged in more food and beverages and exchanged some friendly banter, we departed again on the rib to carry out a drift dive just a few hundred meters beyond the site of the FLEUR DE LYS. This dive lasted approximately 40 minutes and the depth was around 12 meters. Several lobster pots along with a few large crabs were visible on this dive with the vis being around 6 meters. The current was running fairly well so not much effort was needed to have an enjoyable dive. Everyone enjoyed a good days diving and were now ready for the evening to begin.

               Back at the campsite after partaking a few alcoholic beverages and generally throwing harmless banter about, everyone drifted off for showers and shaves (female company excluded) and then we all descended on the local nightlife to make a complete nuisance of ourselves, joined by John the club chairman who arrived during the banter tossing competition. We first descended on one of the local pubs for a couple of drinks but were unlucky in getting fed, so all nine of us decided to invade the local Chinese restaurant. Good food was enjoyed by all, especially myself being a bit of a monster eater when it comes to Chinese food, much to the amusement of the rest of the club  finishing everyone else's food off too, thanks gents !.

               After good grub and several more beers, it was off again to the first pub we visited for a much needed loo break and then more beer. It was at this point where I returned to the bar to be presented with the most foul tasting blue concoction I have ever had the misfortune to taste. I can only assume that being the most inexperienced diver in the club, this was to be my initiation into the realms of riverside sub aqua club, and I am ashamed to say that I failed miserably. Club chairman John had to rescue me by finishing off the rest of the foul thing with surprising ease I might add. A few more beers later and everyone was ready for a good nights sleep.

              Sunday morning saw us heading off again for another drift dive at the same location as the previous day. Sadly the vis was slightly worse this time and the current not as strong so less ground was covered on this dive and not much to see unfortunately. During the surface interval back at shore, John returned from his food foraging with a potential new member for the club, which he promptly decided to introduce to a try dive much to the amusement of the rest of the club. Visibly disappointed with the new members progress he plucked it out of the water and ate it. I thought that a Cornish pasty would look rather silly in a wetsuit anyway and wondered why he threw it in a bin full of water . A few expletives later and we all started laughing again, me a bit too much, hence my having to type this report.

              On to the fifth and final dive of the weekend THE VALENTINE TANKS and the promise of the biggest lobster the world has ever seen. These tanks were designed to float but failed miserably at the hands of inexperienced soldiers and now rest on the bottom of Poole harbor. Billy was having some bad luck as his dive computer started playing up and had to be replaced and then when lending a foot hold for John to enter the rib, he submerged up to his neck forgetting that his dry suit zip was undone causing him to get a soaking and causing the rest of the boat more laughter. The first attempt to get a shot line onto this wreck failed when the first divers into the water ,Thomas and John were unsuccessful in locating the wreck due to poor visibility and a second attempt started immediately. Sadly and to Billy's ever growing misfortune, this attempt was abandoned when after dropping the shot weight over the side, I accidentally hit Billy on the back of the head with one of the buoys causing more expletives to erupt (my sincerest apologies Billy). It was back to camp and start packing ready for the journey home. Very tired and exhausted ,everyone left the campsite in good spirits and look forward to the next event in Riverside sub aqua clubs diary.

    Lee Farrow          

Eyemouth dive trip Dive Trip – 12th & 13th August 2006

Seven members and 2 PADI friends arrived at various times throughout Friday. Accommodation was easily found and was excellent. Friday evening saw us dining and drinking in the Contented Sole which matched our mood by the end of the evening. Food was good and bar prices even better!
On waking Saturday, the weather did not look well for diving with force 5-6 winds. Mind you that seemed to match the wind and snoring in the dormitories. 7 men together ensured a laddish environment and true to form no one disappointed. Just as well Janet & Pete had a separate room.
After a hearty breakfast (Gavin just about made it in time and it cured Billy’s hangover) came the dreaded news that we would not be diving Saturday. So what to do in Eyemouth for a whole day? Janet & Pete decided to go castle hunting. The rest of us decided on a stroll around Eyemouth.
So off we set down the street bordering the sheltered harbour. As we were walking, we all decided that as we were there to dive, then dive we would. So we did, straight through the door of the Contented Sole. A few hours and several drinks later, we were off to explore the local dive shop.
Off we set round the harbour, some members being led by their credit cards, and found a well stocked dive shop that also has a dive centre attached. Despite temptation, credit cards remained in wallets and no new gear purchased. The owner of the centre then gave us a guided tour of their facilities and took us down to the shore to show us where they did their shore dives from. A concrete path led down between the rocks to the sea which was a heaving cauldron in the wind. On the way back a little voice said “who fancies a shore dive then, it looks alright”. As most of us had had a few drinks, we foolishly declined the offer, that and the washing machine effect of the wind and tide, the water would have ensured a difficult dive.
So back for a shower and shave, ready for another evening of dining and drinking. This time we ended up on the balcony of OBSO bar which was a popular bar with the locals, the more lecherous amongst us were continually nudging each other and indulging in discreet ogling. No names mentioned or needed really. Another good meal and bar prices ensured a late night.
Sunday dawned grey and winds even stronger than Saturday.
Sure enough no diving this weekend. No consolation that this was the first complete wipe-out of a weekend in Eyemouth this year. So off to breakfast (Gavin failed to appear) then back to pack and start the journey home.
Dived into cars and off we went.
Despite the disappointment of not diving, I think all who went still had a good weekend and after sampling the facilities will return and get to dive in the sea as well as the hostelries.

Bill Sayward.
 

Riverside Paramedics do there stuff 4th July 2006

It so pays to have medical staff in your dive club

Click on picture to read News Article

Kenya Revisited 2006

On the back of last years holiday,we revisited Kenya. this time to the north
of Mombassa. This trip took me to the Voyager hotel and the buccaneer dive
centre. In all eighteen dives were completed between Andrew and me in waters
of 28 degrees and visibility of 15-20 m. On the very first dive we saw white
tipped reef sharks of about 1 to 1.5 m. The marine life varies from the
smallest nudibrunches to whale sharks , all be it very elusive on this
trip.One of the best dives was on the freighter Diani which was scuttled in
2002 to form an artificial reef. Laying on its keel at about 20 degrees in
27m of water the marine life has taken over. Vast shoals of fish inhabit the
wreck,with stone fish laying in wait for its next prey and green moray eels
hiding in every nook and cranny.More time needs to be spent on this wreck
for a closer look.Most dives are drifts on reefs but there are some nice
wall dives. An abundance of life on the reefs include bull and blue spotted
rays white tipped reef sharks,turtles, lion and leaf fish and large
groupers.A very relaxing diving regime is created by buccaneer divers and
thanks to Bruce and his team for their assistance,and to our dive guide Adam
who I dived with last year.
Andrew and John.

Race Night 3rd December 2005

As everybody is aware Saturday was our race night, Sue and Keith want to thank every club member for supporting the evening, special thanks go to John Wade for the bar, Andrew Porter for the raffle, Dave Gleadow for selling 17 tickets and selling the tricast and Martin Phillips for booking the hall ,running the door and dishing out the food, also Thomas , Louie and Billy for running the tote.
  What we are trying to say is Saturday could not have happened with out the team work of every member thats what makes our club so good. So its "A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU for making it such a successful and enjoyable evening."
 

Malta  Dive Trip 17th September 2005

0n 17th September sixteen members of the club traveled overnight to Malta
for a weeks diving at the Barcelo Spa Resort Hotel. Amongst the group were
three novice divers, who with their training done in the cold UK were to try
the delights of warm water diving. The first dive was at Cirkenwa West, a
nice dive along a reef to build up the confidence, and to check weights and
equipment. With confidence growing, the group proceeded through the week on
a variety of dives, amongst them the Rozi tugboat, sunk to make an
artificial reef, the Um-El-Faroud oil tanker sunk out from the Blue Grotto,
and HMS Maori a world war two wreck in Valletta Harbour.
Malta and Gozzo are renowned for their caves, caverns and swim through's, for
many of the group this was their first experience of this type of diving,
where good buoyancy control is necessary, if not you end up on the ceiling
of the cavern. The marine life is varied from shoals of Bream which are
happy to be hand fed, to shy and darting octopus and grey gurnards. The
group of all ages knitted together well, and a good time was enjoyed by all,
and would certainly be a place to be revisited, perhaps a new joke book for
Keith would help, as the jokes were starting to repeat by the end of the
week.
Congratulations to all, and especially to Eleanor, Rhiannon and Phil who all
improved so much over the week, and I look forward to diving with all the
team on the next club holiday.

 

Weymouth  Dive Trip June 2005

Six divers from riverside went to Weymouth on the weekend of 11/12 June.
Over the weekend we dived the old paddle steamer Countess Of Erne at 10-14m,
the Enecuri at 12m,and the British Inventor at 15-20m, which is well broken
up with large shoals of Pollock swimming over her broken plates. On the
Sunday four divers went for a drift dive off Grove Point and enjoyed a good
scenic dive. Well done to Gemma and Phill who learnt a lot towards their
sports diver qualification.
John. 
 

Orkney Dive Trip May 2005

In May four members of the Riverside club made up a group of ten divers for
a trip to the Orkneys to dive the ships of the German grand fleet, which
were scuttled in 1919. Over the next six days eleven dives were made on the
wrecks of the fleet including the S54, Dresden, Brummer, Karlsruhe, Klon,
and the submarine U B 116. The depths varied from 20 to 38 metres with
visibility of about 8 to 9 metres and a water temp of 8 degrees. The
abundance of seals meant a scarcity  in fish life, but several large wrass
were seen on the wrecks. Lots of sea anemones  adorned the rusting wrecks
and lit up the otherwise dark depths. Thanks to Keith for organising the
trip and the other members of the group for their good company  over the
week. Hopefully another trip could be organised next year.
John.  

John Wade's trip to Kenya April 2005

 On a recent holiday to Kenya I completed eight dives with Diving the crab
dive centre. The water temperature was 29 (like bath water) and the
visibility was 15-20 meters due to the end of the season. Most of the dives
are on reefs and are drifts, along the reefs hawksbill turtles were to be
seen also leaf fish, loin fish, blue spotted rays, scorpion fish, and
sweetlips. the highlight of the dives was the wreck M F V Funguo which was
sunk four years ago to make a artificial reef. The marine life is abundant
around this wreck with large shoals of different fish. With a good swim
through this is one of the most pleasant wrecks to dive, and the fish range
from a one meter + giant grouper to a very well camouflaged frog fish. A
very good location and thanks to Diving the crabs team who were helpful and
friendly, maybe a good destination for the clubs holiday next year?
John.
 

Riverside Sub Aqua Club trip to Hurghada

15 members of Riverside Sub Aqua Club recently visited Hurghada as part of their annual diving program. The group enjoyed the clear warm waters of the Red Sea diving on reefs and several wrecks, notably the Giannus D, a cargo vessel that sunk in 1983 following collision with a reef. Marine life is already well established on the wreck, the stern section of which remains whole. The ship was carrying a cargo of wood between Rijeka and Saudi Arabia, some of which remains on the seabed.